The Exercise Den

I have just finished writing a brand new article on cardiovascular fitness.  In the article I explain what the defenition of cardiovascular fitness is, how to increase cardiovascular fitness, and the beneftis of increasing cardiovascular fitness.  The article gives some great ideas on some activities that can easily be done to give your body a better aerobic fitness level and maybe give you some motivation to get out there and do something. You will want to check it out at www.theexerciseden.com.  You can find some other great articles about exercise and fitness there as well.

We have long known that there are many benefits to exercise.  We all know that exercise helps us lose weight, improves our cardiovascular system, and has the ability to release endorphins to help with anxiety and depression.  It now appears, according to a new study, that another benefit of exercise is to help avoid and cope with drug addiction. The study from Davidson College suggests that regular exercise can reduce the tendancy of becoming addicted to an illegal drug. 

We have to keep in mind that this study was conducted with Rats and has not been proven in Humans but it is very promising that this same benefits of exercise could be found in Humans.

The study concluded that aerobic exercise reduced the rewarding effect of cocaine and that it also probably has protective effects against cocaine abuse.  The researchers are convinced that real world exercise can be part of an overall treatment and prevention program.

The physiological reason behind exercise being effective in reducing cocaine abuse is that exercise and cocaine use both stimulate the release of dopamine in the brain.  Long term exercise causes a down regulation effect of the receptors in the brain leading to less receptors available to be activated by cocaine and therefore, less of a euphoric event.

With so many benefits of exercise it seems almost ridiculous not to have some sort of exercise and fitness routine.

You have most probably seen advertisements for the Bowflex exercise and fitness machine on television, promising that you can get a great workout in a short time with it. Before you purchase one, however, you should take some time to consider the advantages and disadvantages of using a Bowflex exercise and fitness machine. Some of the concerns you should address are the durability of the machine, average workout times, and its compatibility with supplementary equipment.

First, a Bowflex exercise and fitness machine helps improve muscle flexibility. It uses power rods attached to pulleys to give you your workout, instead of the weights you usually find on a standard exercise machine. The seat on the Bowflex exercise and fitness machine can also be adjusted to change the angle and direction of your body, giving you a full-body workout and working all of your muscle groups. This helps improve the strength and co-ordination of muscles throughout your body.

If you want a more effective workout, then you should use the Bowflex on a regular basis. Although it is stated in the advertisements on television that a workout three times each week for thirty minutes each is sufficient, the quality of your workout is dependent on how well you use the machine. In order to have a successful workout plan, you should create a schedule that you are comfortable with.

An added benefit of purchasing a Bowflex exercise and fitness machine is the supplementary equipment sold alongside it that can be used in conjunction with it. For example, you could also use a TreadClimber, which is a stair climber/treadmill hybrid exercise machine. If you have adequate space in your home, you could even consider purchasing a Bowflex Revolution machine. This machine helps to tone your muscles, and is so effective that it is even used by astronauts in space to maintain the strength in their muscles.

While the Bowflex exercise and fitness machine can be used to work the muscles throughout your body, the machine itself will gradually lose flexibility. This is due to the plastic parts used in the construction of the Bowflex, as plastic generally wears out faster than metal does. Thus the Bowflex is more likely to break down than other machines. While you can order replacement parts for the Bowflex, it can take several weeks for replacement parts to arrive. The Bowflex exercise and fitness machine comes with a 12 year warranty, so you will not have to pay for replacement parts. However, just waiting for the parts to arrive can be very frustrating, and this will disrupt your normal training regimen.

Another disadvantage of using a Bowflex exercise and fitness machine is that it can only generate so much resistance. Because the machine uses power rods to generate resistsance instead of weights, this limits the maximum amount of resistance that can be generated with it. IT can generate a maximum of 410 pounds of resistance, which may be enough for the average user, but if you are a body builder you will likely wish to have more resistance than that for your workout.

The final disadvantage of buying a Bowflex exercise and fitness machine is the cost. It is rather expensive, being priced somewhere between nine hundred and two thousand dollars. While you may purchase a Bwoflex exercise and fitness machine from a third-party store, the warranty offered there is probably for a shorter time period than that offered by Bowflex.

With these various pros and cons of getting a Bowflex exercise and fitness machine, you should think carefully before deciding to spend money on one.

The use of exercise and fitness equipment often results in injury because of the high impact associated with using it. There are, however, various types of low impact exercise and fitness equipment available in the market. The three main types of low impact exercise equipment that you might consider buying are elliptical trainers, exercise bikes, and rowing machines. If you have enough space, then you should consider getting one of these low impact exercise machines for your home.

The first and most common low impact exercise and fitness machine is the exercise bike. Exercise bikes come in two forms - the upright form and the recumbent form. The upright form of exercise bike is similar to a normal bicycle in that the rider sits up straight while pedaling. The recumbent form allows the rider to recline while using the machine, thus reducing strain on the back while using the machine. The recumbent bike, while good for endurance training, does not provide a workout of the same intensity as an upright bike can. The standard bike mainly works the leg muscles. Both forms of exercise bike can be fairly affordable, with models available for as little as six hundred dollars.

The rowing machine is another type of low impact exercise and fitness equipment that you may wish to consider. It simulates the action of rowing a boat, helping to improve your cardiovascular health and strengthen the muscles in the upper body. The machine makes use of magnetism, air, hydraulics and water to create four different ways in which you can pull the machine. The rowing machine relies on a spinning fan to create air resistance when you pull on the mechanism. This simulates the actual experience of rowing. While a less expensive model can cost less than two hundred dollars, a more expensive model that is more durable and magnetic-based can cost thousands of dollars. No matter what model you choose to buy, however, you will still find it a fantastic option for exercising.

The last type of low impact exercise and fitness equipment that you might consider is the elliptical trainer. Using this machine involves standing on a pair of pedals and moving them around a wheel, making it resemble a hybrid between a regular treadmill and a stationary bike. Some elliptical trainers also include cross-training bars, allowing users to strengthen their arm muscles as well as their leg muscles. Elliptical trainers use two different types of brakes - friction brakes and magnetic brakes. Friction brakes tend to wear out easily so a machine that uses magnetic brakes would be the better choice. The width of your stride should also affect your choice of machines, as you should look for one that does not place your feet too far apart. A guideline for suitable stride width would be twenty inches. The cost of an elliptical trainer can range from less than five hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.

If you are thinking of buying exercise and fitness equipment, you should consider these three types of low impact exercise and fitness equipment. Low impact exercise equipment is excellent for regular exercise and helps to reduce the strain and injury from using regular high impact exercise equipment.

One of my biggest pet peeves is watching people in the gym who just don’t do weight lifting exercises properly.  The bottom line is that if you want to get strength in the entire range of motion of the muscle, you have to train the muscle in the full range of motion. To many times I see guys try to cheat when lifting weights.  They will only work the muscle in a limited range of motion to appear to lift more weight.  I have also seen guys who leverage or swing their body in order to lift more weight. 

My advice is to lift a lighter weight and to work the muscle in the full range of motion.  I would also advise that one should stabilize their core and to lift or push the weight in a smooth controlled movement.  The rule of thumb is that the concentric and eccentric movement in the weight lift be about 2 seconds. By following these rules in weight lifting, there will be several benefits. First of all, the chances of injury during exercise will be greatly diminished.  The chances that you will suffer a muscle pull or strain will drop exponentially. What most people don’t truly realize is that by doing the exercise properly, one will see much faster results and much greater strength gains.  

I invite feedback from readers of this blog.  Please throw your opinion my way.

Many people owe their fitness and health to exercise balls, including some people who suffer from muscular dystrophy and as such have balancing problems. That is not the limit of the exercise ball’s usefulness however. The exercise ball is an excellent home exercise and fitness accessory and can be used to build muscle as well as improve their endurance.